Lehigh picks up first win in West Point since 2003 as Mountain Hawks top Army 3-1

Friday, October 24

West Point, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

15-9, 8-2Patriot

Army

10-13, 5-5Patriot

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Lehigh	23	25	25	25	3
ARMY	25	22	17	17	1

Lehigh picks up first win in West Point since 2003 as Mountain Hawks top Army 3-1

10/24/2014 9:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – After a close first-set loss, the Lehigh volleyball team rallied to win a 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-17) match at Army Friday night. The victory marks Lehigh's first win in West Point since Nov. 8, 2003. The Mountain Hawks improve to 8-2 in the Patriot League and 15-9 overall, while the Black Knights fall to 10-13 overall and 5-5 in league play.

"This was a huge win for us and it really says something that it was our first win in West Point since 2003," said head coach Bob Bertucci. "I'm really excited about the fact that the girls battled back after dropping the first set and trailing in the second. Once we got to Army we really stayed in control."

Three Mountain Hawks tallied double-digit kills, led by senior Jade Van Streepen with 16 spikes and a .342 hitting percentage. Van Streepen also tallied 12 digs to register her sixth double-double of the season. Freshman Whitney Krantz tallied a career-high 11 kills to go along with eight digs, two blocks and three service aces. Sophomore Taylor Carroll chipped in ten kills and four total blocks.

"I was very impressed with Whitney tonight," said Bertucci. "Not only did she step up at the net, but what excited me most what how good she was in the back court. She passed very well and did exactly what we asked of her."

Junior Amy Matula tallied 39 assists and 13 digs to register her 12th double-double of the season. Sophomore libero Mariah Brantley posted a team-best 16 digs, while junior Ana Vrhel stuffed a squad-high five total blocks. The Mountain Hawks hit .296 as a team and limited Army to just a .162 hitting percentage.

"Mariah had another great game and has been very dominate lately," said Bertucci. "Amy also performed very well and switched up the offense for us when we needed her to. It was an all-around great effort tonight."

The first set began very closely as the score was knotted at every tally until it reached six all. An Army attack error was followed by back-to-back service aces from Krantz as the Mountain Hawks took a 9-6 lead. A pair of kills from junior Stephanie Slater kept Lehigh's lead at three at 11-8, but the Black Knights worked their way back within one on multiple occasions until back-to-back kills from Slater helped Lehigh back to a three-point advantage at 17-14. Army stayed close and was eventually able to tie the score at 22 after a service ace from Kristin Smeland as the Mountain Hawks took their first timeout. A service ace sparked a 3-1 run for the Black Knights out of the break as Army was able to capture a 25-23 set-one victory.

Army held a 5-4 lead early on in the second set before the Black Knights used a kill from Carolyn Bockrath and back-to-back Lehigh errors to take a 8-4 advantage. The Black Knights worked their lead to seven at 12-5 before a kill from Van Streepen sparked a 6-0 Lehigh run that was capped off by a service ace from Brantley as the Mountain Hawks pulled back within one at 12-11. After Army lengthened its lead to 15-13, Lehigh took advantage of Black Knight attack errors and added spikes from Krantz and Van Streepen to string together five unanswered points and take an 18-15 lead. The Black Knights responded with three-straight points to tie the set at 18. The score was knotted again at 21 before three points from senior Kaylynn Genemaras and a spike from Van Streepen led Lehigh to a 25-22 set-two victory and evened the match at one.

The Mountain Hawks continued their momentum and got off to a 7-0 lead in the third set thanks to kills from Matula, Van Streepen and Carroll. The Mountain Hawks eventually worked their lead to a commanding 11-1. Lehigh continued to roll and eventually held set point at 24-13. The Black Knights rallied to score the next four points, but an Army service error gave Lehigh its final point as the Mountain Hawks took a 25-17 set-three win and 2-1 match advantage.

Lehigh got out to a quick 9-4 lead in the fourth set and eventually worked the lead to 14-7. Army pulled within four at 15-11 following a service ace, but the Mountain Hawks quickly surged ahead as an attack error from Amber Clay put Lehigh's lead at 19-13. Three kills from Van Streepen and a pair of spikes from Carroll helped the Mountain Hawks close out the set on a 6-4 run to grab a 25-17 set-four victory and 3-1 match win.

Lehigh heads to Holy Cross Saturday at 4 p.m. for another important Patriot League match. The contest can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network.

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